Fecal microbiota transplantation has demonstrated efficacy and is increasingly being used in the treatment of patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Despite a lack of high-quality trials to provide more information on the long-term effects of FMT, there has been great enthusiasm about the potential for expanding its applications. However, FMT presents many serious ethical and social challenges that must be addressed as part of a successful regulatory policy response. In this article, we draw on a sample of the scientific (...) and bioethics literatures to examine clusters of ethical and social issues arising in five main areas: informed consent and the vulnerability of patients; determining what a “suitable healthy donor” is; safety and risk; commercialization and potential exploitation of vulnerable patients; and public health implications. We find that these issues are complex and worthy of careful consideration by health care professionals. Desperation of a patient should not be the basis for selecting treatment with FMT, and the patient's interests should always be of paramount concern. Authorities must prioritize development of appropriate and effective regulation of FMT to safeguard patients and donors, promote further research into safety and efficacy, and avoid abuse of the treatment. (shrink)

Past research suggests that spiritual leadership plays a pivotal role in enhancing employee job performance, yet we have little understanding of how and when spiritual leadership enhances employee job performance. The present study explores how and when spiritual leadership promotes job performance by examining relational energy as a mediator and leader integrity and relational energy differentiation as boundary conditions. We tested the theoretical model with data gathered across three phases over 12 months from 497 employees and their supervisors in 108 (...) groups. Results showed that the positive relationship between spiritual leadership and job performance was mediated by relational energy. Moreover, we found that leader integrity amplified the mediated relationship between spiritual leadership and employee job performance via relational energy. In contrast, relational energy differentiation weakened this mediated relationship. (shrink)

_An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy_ unlocks the mystery of ancient Chinese philosophy and unravels the complexity of Chinese Buddhism by placing them in the contemporary context of discourse. Elucidates the central issues and debates in Chinese philosophy, its different schools of thought, and its major philosophers. Covers eight major philosophers in the ancient period, among them Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. Illuminates the links between different schools of philosophy. Opens the door to further study of the relationship between Chinese and Western (...) philosophy. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

We prove that RCA₀ + RT $RT\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} 2 \\ 2 \\ \end{array} $ ̸͢ WKL₀ by showing that for any set C not of PA-degree and any set A, there exists an infinite subset G of A or ̅Α, such that G ⊕ C is also not of PA-degree.

Recent decades have brought global expansion of private supplementary tutoring, and China is among countries in which patterns have been especially dramatic. National survey data indicate that 29.8...

The recognition memory for inverted faces is especially difficult when compared with that for non-face stimuli. This face inversion effect has often been used as a marker of face-specific holistic processing. However, whether face processing without awareness is still specific remains unknown. The present study addressed this issue by examining the face inversion effect with the technique of binocular rivalry. Results showed that invisible upright faces could break suppression faster than invisible inverted faces. Nevertheless, no difference was found for invisible (...) upright houses and invisible inverted houses. This suggested that face processing without awareness is still specific. Some face-specific information can be processed by high-level brain areas even when that information is invisible. (shrink)

Two types of guanxi have a close association with auditor independence in China: firm-level connections derived from state ownership and personal connections developed through management affiliations with external auditors. This article examines the effects of these two types of connection and their joint effect on audit quality. We find that state ownership and management affiliations with the external auditor both increase the probability of receiving a clean audit opinion in China. Furthermore, the probability increment brought by management affiliations for non-state-owned (...) enterprises (NSOEs) is greater than that for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). These results suggest that state ownership and management affiliations are two important types of connection that impair auditor independence, and that management affiliations are of greater importance to private-sector firms than to SOEs. (shrink)

In this paper, a stochastic Lotka–Volterra predator-prey model with discrete delays and feedback control is studied. Firstly, the existence and uniqueness of global positive solution are proved. Further, we investigate the asymptotic property of stochastic system at the positive equilibrium point of the corresponding deterministic model and establish sufficient conditions for the persistence and extinction of the model. Finally, the correctness of the theoretical derivation is verified by numerical simulations.

Globalization has changed almost every facet of life for people around the world, and today the flow of influence is no longer uni-directional. It is argued that East Asian societies are anchored in an indigenous form of hierarchical relationalism where social structure is produced by relational obligations of an ethical and normative nature that have slowed its traditional culture “melting into air” as prophesied by Marx. The successfully modernization of East Asia has involved hybridization, compartmentalization, and sequencing of traditional psychological (...) features of Confucianist societies such as delay of gratification and respect for education, paternalistic leadership, filial piety, and beliefs in harmony or benevolence. Features of hierarchical relationalism are adaptable to creating niches for East Asian societies that thrive under globalization as characterized by the paradoxical coupling of economic inequality in fact with discourses of equality in principle. Moral, ethical demands for enlightened leadership constrain East Asian elites to at least attempt to protect subordinates and protect societal well-being. A fundamental contribution of East Asia to global society may be in the articulation of how to ameliorate economic inequality using Confucian principles of hierarchical relationalism. (shrink)

Let Γ be a simple connected undirected graph with vertex set VΓ and edge set EΓ. The metric dimension of a graph Γ is the least number of vertices in a set with the property that the list of distances from any vertex to those in the set uniquely identifies that vertex. For an ordered subset W=w1,w2,…,wk of vertices in a graph Γ and a vertex v of Γ, the metric representation of v with respect to W is the k-vector (...) rvW=dv,w1,dv,w2,…,dv,wk. If every pair of distinct vertices of Γ have different metric representations, then the ordered set W is called a resolving set of Γ. It is known that the problem of computing this invariant is NP-hard. In this paper, we consider the problem of determining the cardinality ψΓ of minimal doubly resolving sets of Γ and the strong metric dimension for the jellyfish graph JFGn,m and the cocktail party graph CPk+1. (shrink)

The oscillations on output power and distortion of the inverter currents will occur in the case of unbalanced grid voltage faults. Constant output power and good current quality cannot be achieved simultaneously. Aiming at these problems, a coordinate control strategy for suppressing power fluctuations and current harmonics is proposed by analyzing instantaneous power control and current balance control. The proposed control is achieved by adjusting the weight coefficient of current reference values to change the current harmonic contents based on proportional (...) complex integral controller and proportional multiple complex integral controller. The control strategy with a simple control structure neither needs to detect harmonic components of the inverter currents, nor needs to separate the positive and negative components of voltage and current, which is easy to be realized. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control are verified by the comparison and analysis of simulation. (shrink)

Fractional complex chaotic systems have attracted great interest recently. However, most of scholars adopted integer real chaotic system and fractional real and integer complex chaotic systems to improve the security of communication. In this paper, the advantages of fractional complex chaotic synchronization in secure communication are firstly demonstrated. To begin with, we propose the definition of fractional difference function synchronization according to difference function synchronization of integer complex chaotic systems. FDFS makes communication secure based on FCCS possible. Then we design (...) corresponding controller and present a general communication scheme based on FDFS. Finally, we respectively accomplish simulations which transmit analog signal, digital signal, voice signal, and image signal. Especially for image signal, we give a novel image cryptosystem based on FDFS. The results demonstrate the superiority and good performances of FDFS in secure communication. (shrink)

ABSTRACTNumerous studies have found that shame increases individuals’ anger at others. However, according to recent theories about the social function of shame and anger at others, it is possible that shame controls individuals’ anger at others in specific conditions. We replicated previous findings that shame increased individuals’ anger at others’ unfairness, when others were not aware of the individual’s experience of shameful events. We also found for the first time that shame controlled or even decreased individuals’ anger at others’ unfairness, (...) when others were aware of the individual’s experience of shameful events. The results were consistent when shame was induced by either a recall paradigm or an imagination paradigm, and in either the ultimatum game or the dictator game. This suggests that shame strategically controls individuals’ anger at others to demonstrate that they are willing to benefit others, when facing the risk of social exclusion. Our findings highlight the interpersonal function of... (shrink)

ABSTRACTThe question of the relation between humans and nature lies at the foundation of any philosophy. With the daily worsening environmental crisis, we are forced to face this ancient question again. Yet when we put it into the form of ‘humans and nature’, a metaphysics is already implied and the problem of nature has not yet been questioned. At this moment, the very question that needs to be put forward is, ‘What is nature’? The question of nature will be interrogated (...) through a comparative view in this essay. First, I argue the modern understanding of nature lies at the root of today’s environmental problems. Then, I go back to early Daoism to explore Daoist thinking on ziran. The meaning of ‘dao emulates ziran’ is brought to light through a detailed interpretation of the ziran of dao and things. Ziran penetrates the dao, the heavenly, the earthly and the human. It is with the understanding of ziran that the nature of humans and all things are illuminated. Heidegger’s... (shrink)

The Foot-mounted Inertial Pedestrian-Positioning System based on the Micro-Inertial Measurement Unit is a good choice for the forest fire fighters when the Global Navigation Satellite System is unavailable. Zero Velocity Update provides a solution for reducing cumulative positioning errors caused by the integral calculation of the inertial navigation. However, the performance of ZUPT is highly affected by the low accuracy and high noise of the MIMU. The accuracy of conventional ZUPT for attitude alignment is reduced by the zero offset of (...) acceleration and the drift of a gyroscope during the standing phase. An initial alignment algorithm based on Adaptive Gradient Descent Algorithm is proposed. In the stepping phase, the extended Kalman filter is often used to correct attitude and position in track estimation. However, the measurement noise of the EKF is influenced by the high-frequency acceleration and angular velocity. Thus, the accuracy of the attitude and position will decrease. A double-constrained extended Kalman filtering is proposed. An adaptive parameter positively correlated with the acceleration and angular velocity is set, and the measurement noise in the DEKF is adaptively adjusted. The performance of the proposed method is verified by implementing the pedestrian test trajectory using MPU-9150 MIMU manufactured by InvenSense. The results show that the attitude error of the AGDA is 33.82% less than that of the conventional GDA. The attitude error of DEKF is 21.70% less than that of the conventional EKF. The experimental results verify the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method. (shrink)

This paper presents a multi-innovation stochastic gradient parameter estimation algorithm for dual-rate sampled state-space systems with d-step time delay by the multi-innovation identification theory. Considering the stochastic disturbance in industrial process and using the gradient search, a multi-innovation stochastic gradient algorithm is proposed through expanding the scalar innovation into an innovation vector in order to obtain more accurate parameter estimates. The difficulty of identification is that the information vector in the identification model contains the unknown states. The proposed algorithm uses (...) the state estimates of the observer instead of the state variables to realize the parameter estimation. The simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm works well. (shrink)

The concept of _feeling trusted_, which has received far less attention from researchers than _trusting_, refers to the trustee’s awareness of trustor’s exposed vulnerability and positive expectations. Previous research has merely centered on employees’ feeling of being trusted by their leaders and its influences on their work-related outcomes, but there is little work about the impact of leader feeling trusted by employees. Grounded in social exchange theory and moral licensing theory, the current research centers on explaining why leaders’ sense of (...) being trusted by employees brings about both positive and negative reactions and considering how leaders’ moral identity moderates these effects. One qualitative study and two quantitative studies were conducted to examine the benefits and drawbacks of leader feeling trusted. Results demonstrated that leader feeling trusted has two main consequences: trusted leaders are more likely to have strong feelings of obligation toward their subordinates, and further engage in benevolent leadership behavior to repay the kindness; and leaders’ sense of being trusted may be conducive to the accumulation of moral credits, thereby stimulating leaders to display laissez-faire leadership behavior. Additionally, our findings indicate that the leader’s moral identity would affect the decisions of the trusted leader to behave better or worse, which promotes benevolent leadership behavior through enhanced felt obligation, and lessens laissez-faire leadership behavior via reduced moral credits. (shrink)

Understanding the neural basis of schizophrenia (SZ) is important for shedding light on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this mental disorder. Structural and functional alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) have been implicated in the neurobiology of SZ. However, the effective connectivity among them in SZ remains unclear. The current study investigated how neuronal pathways involving these regions were affected in first-episode SZ using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Forty-nine patients (...) with a first-episode of psychosis and diagnosis of SZ—according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision—were studied. Fifty healthy controls (HCs) were included for comparison. All subjects underwent resting state fMRI. We used spectral dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to estimate directed connections among the bilateral ACC, DLPFC, hippocampus, and MPFC. We characterized the differences using Bayesian parameter averaging (BPA) in addition to classical inference (t-test). In addition to common effective connectivity in these two groups, HCs displayed widespread significant connections predominantly involved in ACC not detected in SZ patients, but SZ showed few connections. Based on BPA results, SZ patients exhibited anterior cingulate cortico-prefrontal-hippocampal hyperconnectivity, as well as ACC-related and hippocampal-dorsolateral prefrontal-medial prefrontal hypoconnectivity. In summary, spectral DCM revealed the pattern of effective connectivity involving ACC in patients with first-episode SZ. This study provides a potential link between SZ and dysfunction of ACC, creating an ideal situation to associate mechanisms behind SZ with aberrant connectivity among these cognition and emotion-related regions. (shrink)

We have investigated the geologic features of the lower Cambrian-aged Niutitang Shale in the northwestern Hunan province of South China. Our results indicate that the Niutitang Shale has abundant and highly mature algal kerogen with total organic carbon content ranging from 0.6% to 18.2%. The equivalent vitrinite reflectance value is between 2.5% and 4.3%. Mineral constituents are dominated by quartz and clay. The average quartz content is much higher than that of clay minerals, and this suggests a high brittleness index. (...) Organic-matter pores, interparticle pores, intraparticle pores, interlaminated fractures, and structural fractures are all well developed. The porosity ranges from 0.6% to 8.8%, with an average of 4.8%, whereas the permeability varies from 0.0018 to [Formula: see text]. The porosity of TOC- and clay-rich shale samples is generally higher than that of quartz-rich shale samples. The gas adsorption capacity of the Niutitang Shale varies from 2.26 to [Formula: see text], with a mean value of [Formula: see text]. The TOC content appears to significantly influence gas adsorption capacity. In general, TOC-rich samples exhibit a much higher adsorption capacity than TOC-poor samples. (shrink)

This study was the first to integrate the quantitative analysis and simulation of spatiotemporal processes into research on the ethnicity of tourist destinations. Selecting the world heritage site of Jiuzhaigou in China as a case study, we employed remote sensing images and field observation to obtain the spatial distribution data of the site’s architectural ethnicity of 2005 and 2015. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the mechanism driving changes in architectural ethnicity. Then, we proposed a Logistic-CA-Markov coupling model to (...) analyse architectural ethnicity transformations and simulate the spatiotemporal patterns of the ethnicity of architecture at the site in 2025 and 2035. It was found that from 2005 to 2015, the overall architectural ethnicity at the heritage site trended downwards and displayed an uneven spatial distribution: weak ethnicity in the west and strong in the east. A tight relationship was found between the ethnicity of heritage architecture and the level of tourism development although the ethnicity of tourism architecture was weaker than that of nontourism architecture, and the ethnicity of tourism architecture was continuously strengthening. Factors affecting spatial changes in architectural ethnicity mainly included altitude, slope, distance from main transport lands and waters, and the original type of ethnicity. It is expected that, from 2015 to 2035, the overall architectural ethnicity in Jiuzhaigou will increase. (shrink)

Medical image segmentation is a key technology for image guidance. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of image segmentation play an important role in image-guided surgery. Traditional machine learning methods have achieved certain beneficial effects in medical image segmentation, but they have problems such as low classification accuracy and poor robustness. Deep learning theory has good generalizability and feature extraction ability, which provides a new idea for solving medical image segmentation problems. However, deep learning has problems in terms of its application (...) to medical image segmentation: one is that the deep learning network structure cannot be constructed according to medical image characteristics; the other is that the generalizability y of the deep learning model is weak. To address these issues, this paper first adapts a neural network to medical image features by adding cross-layer connections to a traditional convolutional neural network. In addition, an optimized convolutional neural network model is established. The optimized convolutional neural network model can segment medical images using the features of two scales simultaneously. At the same time, to solve the generalizability problem of the deep learning model, an adaptive distribution function is designed according to the position of the hidden layer, and then the activation probability of each layer of neurons is set. This enhances the generalizability of the dropout model, and an adaptive dropout model is proposed. This model better addresses the problem of the weak generalizability of deep learning models. Based on the above ideas, this paper proposes a medical image segmentation algorithm based on an optimized convolutional neural network with adaptive dropout depth calculation. An ultrasonic tomographic image and lumbar CT medical image were separately segmented by the method of this paper. The experimental results show that not only are the segmentation effects of the proposed method improved compared with those of the traditional machine learning and other deep learning methods but also the method has a high adaptive segmentation ability for various medical images. The research work in this paper provides a new perspective for research on medical image segmentation. (shrink)

This paper calls for a reconstruction of Chinese metaphysics that recognizes the distinct features of Chinese worldview, while at the same time explores the speculative thinking behind the dominant ethical concerns in Chinese philosophy. It suggests some research topics for constructing a Chinese moral metaphysics, without turning it into a metaphysical ethics – the difference between the two is that the former is fundamentally “truth-pursuing” while the latter is “good-pursuing.” This paper argues that even though Chinese metaphysics is deeply connected (...) with concerns for human flourishing, it is not just a study of nature for the sake of practical living. Furthermore, although Chinese metaphysics is different from traditional Western metaphysics, it is not incommensurable with it. There are many interesting metaphysical topics that can be investigated within Chinese philosophical texts. This is a project that looks in to the future of the development of Chinese metaphysics, not a backward-looking study into the history of Chinese cosmological thinking. (shrink)

In this paper I construct Confucian moral realism as a metaethical theory that is compatible with, or even derivable from, traditional Confucianism. The paper is at once interpretative and constructive. In my analysis, Confucians can establish the realist's claims on moral properties because they embrace the view of a moralistic universe. Moral properties in Confucian ethics not only are presented as objective, naturalistic properties, but also are seen as 'causally efficacious'. There are several theses commonly endorsed by contemporary moral realists. (...) I will explain how many of the remarks by Confucius, Mencius, in Yijing, The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean can be understood as implicit endorsements of these theses. I will also analyze the theses specific to Confucian moral realism. The paper will end with a brief defense of this form of realism. (shrink)

This essay questions the meaning of be-ing and non-be-ing in the DDJ with regard to the root-source meaning of dao. I first explore the meaning of dao as the dark non-be-ing, revealing the connotations of the distinction between dao and things by comparison with some forms of Western metaphysics. The meaning of non-be-ing is elaborated in terms of the dynamic meanings of xu 虚 and chong 沖; The play between be-ing and non-be-ing is explored through the lens of yin and (...) yang qi thinking. Qi thinking determines the mutually manifest and mutually interpretive characteristic of be-ing and non-be-ing. Be-ing and non-be-ing thus understood is an ever-flowing and mutually transforming process that penetrates the different levels of dao, things and humans. In the last part I investigate the meaning of “Be-ing comes from non-be-ing”. (shrink)

OBJECTIVE: To report and analyse the pattern of end-of-life decision making for terminal Chinese cancer patients. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: A cancer clinical trials unit in a large teaching hospital. PATIENTS: From April 1992 to August 1997, 177 consecutive deaths of cancer clinical trial patients were studied. MAIN MEASUREMENT: Basic demographic data, patient status at the time of signing a DNR consent, or at the moment of returning home to die are documented, and circumstances surrounding these events evaluated. RESULTS: (...) DNR orders were written for 64.4% of patients. Patients in pain (odds ratio 0.45, 95% CI 0.22-0.89), especially if requiring opioid analgesia (odds ratio 0.40, 95% CI 0.21-0.77), were factors associated with a higher probability of such an order. Thirty-five patients were taken home to die, a more likely occurrence if the patient was over 75 years (odds ratio 0.12, 95% CI 0.04-0.34), had children (odds ratio 0.14, 95% CI 0.02-0.79), had Taiwanese as a first language (odds ratio 6.74, 95% CI 3.04-14.93), or was unable to intake orally (odds ratio 2.73, 95% CI 1.26-5.92). CPR was performed in 30 patients, none survived to discharge. CONCLUSIONS: DNR orders are instituted in a large proportion of dying Chinese cancer patients in a cancer centre, however, the order is seldom signed by the patient personally. This study also illustrates that as many as 20% of dying patients are taken home to die, in accordance with local custom. (shrink)